An answer to those who wish that NoBeliefs.com eliminate
or tone down the war and political articles.

by Jim WalkerOriginated: 20 July 2004

I have received many emails from people
who have applauded my inclusion of political articles and my
stand against the Bush administration, and I appreciate that
greatly. However, a few freethinkers, skeptics, and atheists
have written to me stating that I should not include politics
on my site or that I should "tone down the political rhetoric."
Now I don't know if those people represent one individual (perhaps
a Republican or a Christian) who has created several email accounts
in order to convince me otherwise (a troll) or if, indeed, they
represent the general thinking of American freethinkers that
wish to limit the political expression on this site. If it comes
from the latter, I find it confoundedly puzzling and disconcerting
that freethinkers would object to political expression regardless
of how it goes against their views.

I suspect this very lack of political feeling
within non-believers explains a lot as to why we have absolutely
no representation from our government leaders and why most Americans
shun us. Note that the birth of freethought occurred during heated
political thought. Our very form of secular government (the first
in history) came from political freethinkers. The greatest American
freethinkers (Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Ingersoll,
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and many others), all had strong political
views and involved themselves with the politics of their day.
Our civil liberties came from secularists, not religious fundamentalists.

It doesn't make a bit of sense for this
site to abstain from politics, especially when freethinkers have
always fought against religious influence on government. If
we wish to sustain the separation of church and state, don't
expect religious fanatics to uphold it. And unless we do something
about it, you can pretty much guarantee that the United States
will lose its secular nature.

Moreover, exposing the politics of this
present administration has everything to do with the purpose
of this site. George Bush and his far right-wing Christian henchmen,
his gut-instincts, his evangelical and non-scientific view of
the world, and his push for faith-based institutions threatens
the secular nature of our government. His dictatorial support
for corporations has shifted our government toward fascism. His
war against terrorism and 'evil' comes directly out of religious
type thinking. Thousands of U.S. soldiers and hundreds-of-thousands of Iraqi
civilians have already died as a result of his intransigent mind-set.
In a few years, an even larger number of deaths will occur when
the effects of cancer kicks in as a result of American forces
using depleted uranium weapons. History shows us that war almost
always comes out of religious justification (moral war). Any
nontheist who supports the concept of preemptive war, naively
and unwittingly supports a very bad religious idea.

The religious influence on the United States government
has become a slippery slope that started with the innocuous motto, "In
God We Trust" on our coinage, the addition of "under God" in
the pledge of America, to the government funding of religious institutions
(all unconstitutional). Every day, right-wing Christians fight to make the
United States a theocracy. Who do you think will stop this slide it if not
for individuals like yourselves? Today, the Constitution, the last remaining
fortress for liberty, remains in the control of Right-wing Christian conservatives,
the very people who wish to dismantle it forever.

For those who hold to freethought, skepticism,
or atheism, and especially those who represent freethinker organizations,
web sites, etc., I encourage you to come out of the closet and
become political and to help take control away from Christian
fundamentalists. You may think that reason enough will do the
job to convince others, but do you really think that religionists
(who depend on irrational belief ) will listen to reason even
though the separation of church and state actually protects their
religion? At the very least, you can demand representation and
support candidates that come closest to your position.

One person wrote to me claiming that "all political
convictions is just another form of belief" and that to hold a political
position means believing in it and, thus, contradicts the concept of no beliefs.
I couldn't disagree more. No doubt most people believe in their political
convictions (which doesn't bother me a bit) but don't put everyone in that
"all." I own no beliefs of any political concern, liberal or otherwise
even though I may hold opinions (guesses) about them even if others label
them liberal or conservative. As Darwin once wrote, "All observations
must be for or against some view if it is to be of any service." But
arguing for a view does not require belief, only a point of view, a view that
does require thought, but not necessarily belief.

For those who wish that I lay off the political articles,
forget it; you will just have to live with it. I will not abstain from
including politics on my site, and any protest against this, regardless if
it comes from Republicans or alleged freethinkers, will only encourage me
to accelerate the political thrust. For those who disagree, you can use your
freedom of choice by ignoring the politics or by refusing to visit this site
entirely.

Please put freethought back into
your hearts and into the political spotlight!